Consolation Prize

I’ve only just noticed that December’s 2007 NPD hardware figures for the US were released recently. Looking down the list it’s more or less the same pattern that has been evident every month throughout the year, excepting the occasional surprise, just with a heck of a lot more units sold during the festive season.

Nintendo is top of the heap once again but the Xbox 360 managed to get within touching distance of the Wii, albeit due to the Wii’s stock shortages. The grandfather of the current generation, the PS2, now over seven years old is still showing the new boys on the block that there’s life left in the old dog yet.

The PS3, while having fairly decent sales, lost more ground to its rivals and 2008 is shaping up to be a crucial year in determining the success of the platform in this region.

1. Nintendo DS (2,470,000)
2. Nintendo Wii (1,350,000)
3. Microsoft Xbox 360 (1,260,000)
4. Sony PS2 (1,100,000)
5. Sony PSP (1,060,000)
6. Sony PS3 (797,600)

The total sales for the year also follow the same pattern:

1. Nintendo DS (8,500,000)
2. Nintendo Wii (6,290,000)
3. Microsoft Xbox 360 (4,620,000)
4. Sony PS2 (3,970,000)
5. Sony PSP (3,820,000)
6. Sony PS3 (2,560,000)

As of yesterday a new dashboard update was made available for the Xbox 360. You’ll be prompted that there’s a new update ready to install as soon as you sign in and connect to Xbox Live. Similar to previous updates the process was quick and installed without any problems.

The new update features some fairly drastic cosmetic changes to the dashboard that are immediately noticeable. Overall the new interface improves both the look and the usability of the dashboard and the continual improvements to the system are always welcome.

Marketplace

Apart from categories that have been renamed, the most obvious addition to the dashboard is the new “twist” menu used to navigate the “Spotlight” and “New Arrivals” categories. This new interface allows you to move left or right across a series of sub-menus as well as up or down to select one of the menu items.

The “Game Store” category now groups together all Xbox Live Arcade games, demos and the newly introduced category “Xbox Originals”. At present there are seven Xbox original titles that can be downloaded for 1200 Microsoft points including Halo, Crimson Skies, Psychonauts, Farenheit, and Fable. Original games are selectable from a nice menu using the original “black and green” colour scheme of old with all titles displaying the box artwork.

I personally think the “Xbox Originals” downloadable service is a decent feature, although the price point may need to be reviewed as most original Xbox games can still easily be picked up in stores or online for a similar price or less. However, this service offers a level of convenience that I think most people will appreciate.

Xbox Live

Friends and messages have been combined to allow for the new “Inside Xbox” news feed item. According to the default message that’s available at present news will be refreshed every Thursday.

Personal profiles have now been extended allowing you to add some additional information about yourself (should you so want to) showing your real name, location, and biographical data. Personally I prefer anonymity with regards to my real name but the additional “bio” certainly allows far more flexibility rather than trying to squeeze information into the “motto”.

The new “Friend Sharing” functionality, which allows you to view other people’s friend’s lists is quite interesting. I’m generally fairly nosey when it comes to what other people are playing and what they’ve managed to achieve, so this is an added boon for me.

Games

The Games blade generally looks to have undergone a bit of a face-lift with the category “Games Library” grouping together downloaded arcade games, demos, and Xbox originals. It also seems like the achievement list has been optimised once again as it seemed noticeably quicker.

Media

Although not a vast amount of changes in this area the “Twist” interface is now included and thankfully videos are now grouped.

For further details see
Xbox.com

The September hardware and software sales for the US were recently released and the Xbox 360 has managed to outsell the Nintendo Wii and the DS. The sales would have been boosted by the massive success of Halo 3 which managed to sell a mind bogglingly impressive 3.3 million. Almost double the combined sales of all the other titles in the top 10 for that month!

1. Microsoft Xbox 360 (527,800)
2. Nintendo Wii (501,000)
3. Nintendo DS (495,800)
4. Sony PSP (284,500)
5. Sony PS2 (215,000)
6. Sony PS3 (119,400)
7. Nintendo GBA (75,000)

The software sales figures for the month were:

1. Halo 3 (3.3 million) (X360)
2. Wii Play (282,000) (Wii)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (224,000) (DS)
4. Madden NFL 08 (205,000) (PS2)
5. Skate Xbox 360 (175,000) (X360)
6. Madden NFL 08 (173,000) (X360)
7. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (167,000) (Wii)
8. Bioshock (150,000) (360)
9. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (141,000) (DS)
10.Heavenly Sword (139,000) (PS3)

I noticed the other day that the hardware sales figures for August in the US have been available for a while. Nintendo heads the pack once again with the Wii and DS still selling like hotcakes, whilst the Xbox 360, comes in third, receiving a sales boost after it’s 50 USD price cut at the beginning of August. The sales of the PS3 seem to have settled down once again as it trails at the back of the pack.

Figures after the jump.

1. Wii 403,600
2. DS 383,300
3. 360 276,700
4. PS2 202,000
5. PSP 151,200
6. PS3 130,600

Wow, this certainly makes a change from the norm. The PSP has outsold the DS in Japan for once as it appears it’s got a huge boost from the release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Figures for the week ending 16th of September has seen the PSP gain a six fold increase!

I’m so used to seeing the Nintendo Wii and DS dominating the hardware sales for Japan (and the world) that something like this comes as a little bit of a pleasant shock.

The hardware rundown looks like:

1. PSP: 95,487
2. DS: 79,974
3. Wii: 26,181
4. PS2: 13,128
5. PS3: 13,101
6. X360: 1243
7. GBA: 836
8. Cube: 97

Source:
GamesIndustry.biz

In some landmark news for UK gamers the Nintendo Wii has now become the fastest selling console to achieve the “one million sold since launch” milestone in UK history. This number was achieved in 38 weeks compared with the Sony PS2 (49 weeks), and Microsoft Xbox 360 (60 weeks).

This is an impressive achievement. In my opinion there hasn’t really been a steady flow of quality “AAA” titles appearing on the platform since its release and this figure highlights just how much of an impression the Wii has had on the hearts and minds of gamers (casual and hardcore alike).

Original source:
Telegraph online

In some additional news from Leipzig the European release date for the Sony PSP slim has been announced as part of the Sony conference. You’ll be able to get hold of the new sleeker PSP as of September 5th 2007 for 169 EUR.

The new design will also be available in either a “Spiderman” bundle pack, featuring a black and red PSP and including a copy of the Spiderman 2 game the movie Spiderman 3. Alternatively the “Simpsons” pack features a yellow PSP and a copy of the game. Both bundle packs will be 199.99 EUR.

The prices announced thus far have only been in Euros, but I would expect a slightly higher GBP value for the UK market.

Rejoice! It looks like I’m finally going to have some Wii games to buy later this year that interest me. Leaked European release dates from the Leipzig GC07 conference in Germany have surfaced on the net and if confirmed it’s going to be a busy 4th quarter for Nintendo fans.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - October 26th
Endless Ocean - November 9th
Super Mario Galaxy - November 16th
NiGHTS - November 23rd
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - November 30th

A date for the highly anticipated DS title The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has also surfaced as October 19th.

Originally sourced from
Kotaku